MIDDLEBORO — All 80th birthday celebrations are special but the gathering Sunday, July 22 in a Middleboro backyard took the cake.

Three cakes, in fact.

A triple birthday party honored lifelong friends Dan Medeiros, Larry Oliveira and Ralph Freeman. They all turned 80 this year.

The trio, who Larry’s wife Henrietta Oliveira dubs The Three Musketeers, grew up together a quarter mile apart in Lakeville.

Through the years, life changed, as it does, but their friendship endured.

The three men, who graduated from the second class at the then-new Apponequet Regional High School in 1961, no longer hang out together in the old neighborhood, although Freeman still lives not far away. Oliveira now lives in Middleboro, while Medeiros calls Onset home.

Mrs. Oliveira decided to host the triple celebration because “Larry just loves his friends.’’ Uniting them for a special gathering would be a true birthday gift, she decided.

The party was not a surprise to the friends. “The surprise is that we got to this age,’’ Freeman quipped.

In fact, although Medeiros notes that “luck’’ played a part in their longevity, along with staying active, as the three men sat together, they credited reaching the milestone birthday in large part to each other.

“And doctors,’’ Freeman joked.

Having each other to talk with, the men agreed, has added meaning to their life.

“Life has ups and downs, different turns, but you have to stay positive,’’ Medeiros said. “You’ve got to keep on trucking.’’